WND AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Media vs. reality on Trump's first 100 days

'Everyone can see them for partisan attack dogs they've been since Clinton'

Garth Kant is WND Washington news editor. Previously, he spent five years writing, copy-editing and producing at "CNN Headline News," three years writing, copy-editing and training writers at MSNBC, and also served several local TV newsrooms as producer, executive producer and assistant news director. His most recent book is "Capitol Crime: Washington's cover-up of the Killing of Miriam Carey." He also is the author of the McGraw-Hill textbook, "How to Write Television News."

WASHINGTON – A theater critic might be inclined to wait for the last act before writing a review.

Not the media.

April 29 will mark President Trump’s 100th day in office.

But the reviews are already in. And they’re not raves.

On March 27, more than three weeks ago, a Washington Post headline declared: “Trump’s first 100 days: A big failure, and a new low in the polls.”

Three days before that, on March 24, Raw Story reported: “‘Worst 100 days we’ve ever seen’: David Gergen slams Trump’s ‘delusional’ response to Trumpcare fail.”

Two days before that, Britain’s Independent announced: “Donald Trump’s presidency is the ‘most failed first 100 days ever,’ says U.S. historian.”

At least the New York Times waited until Monday, although still 12 days before the president has been in office 100 days, to describe: “100 days of horror.”

President Trump certainly has a different take, exuberantly tweeting Monday: “The first 90 days of my presidency has exposed the total failure of the last eight years of foreign policy! So true.”

Last week, the president tweeted: “Jobs are returning, illegal immigration is plummeting, law, order and justice are being restored. We are truly making America great again!”

And, “One by one we are keeping our promises – on the border, on energy, on jobs, on regulations. Big changes are happening!”

The president isn’t the only one who disagrees with the major media’s assessment of his administration’s performance to date.

A dissenting opinion was offered by author, screenwriter and political analyst Michael Walsh in a Saturday commentary he penned in the New York Post headlined “Trump’s first 100 days have been better than you think.”

The article listed areas where Walsh maintained the Trump administration has already made a number of accomplishments or significant progress.

WND asked Walsh if there was anything President Trump could have done to get a positive review from the mainstream media on his first 100 days, and still stay true to his campaign promises.

“No,” was the succinct response. He added, “The Democrat-Media Complex’s mask has fallen, and everyone can clearly see them for the partisan attack dogs they have been since the Clinton administration. They are determined a) to see him fail and b) create the ‘narrative’ that he has been failing since Day One.”

Did he think the public can see past the media spin and recognize the progress and accomplishments he had described? In other words, does reality trump spin in the digital media era?

“Until and unless the White House gets its press operation in order, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will continue to resemble the Spartans at Thermopylae or Custer at the Little Bighorn. This requires both pushback and payback,” replied the scholar.

Michael Walsh

“The press badges may say ‘New York Times,’ but this is not your father’s New York Times. Think of the MSM now in terms of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’: This is no longer your beautiful wife; it’s a pod person masquerading as your beautiful wife. Treat them accordingly.”

In his commentary, Walsh noted: “No new president will ever match the whirlwind of new programs introduced by F.D.R. when he took office during the Depression – the gold standard cited by Democrats who equate activity with action. But Trump got elected for precisely the opposite reason: Less government is more freedom.”

With that in mind, WND asked the author if he thought a president’s efforts to dismantle excess government could ever get good press?

“Only by completely reframing the argument to convince people that ‘free’ goodies from the government come with a real, if hidden, price tag they really don’t want to pay,” Walsh observed.

“But that also requires a restoration of fundamental American, Enlightenment and Western moral and civilizational principles, as outlined in my book, ‘The Devil’s Pleasure Palace.'”

That book explained how cultural Marxism became the mainstream philosophy in American academia, even as economic Marxism was being thrown onto the ash heap of history as an utter failure. WND outlined the key concepts in the “The Devil’s Pleasure Palace” in an article on a speech Walsh gave in Washington a year ago. The author told WND he is writing a sequel called “The Fiery Angel.”

In his commentary piece, Walsh cited numerous advancements made by the Trump administration as it approaches its first 100 days milestone, especially in foreign relations under the guidance of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whose lack of political experience “has turned out so far to be an excellent thing.”

He wrote, “Unencumbered by the can’t-do conventional wisdom of the Foggy Bottom establishment and its parrots in the Washington press corps, Tillerson has played the carrot to Trump’s stick, soothing Chinese feathers ruffled during the campaign with a March visit to Beijing and setting up the successful meeting earlier this month between The Donald and the Chinese president at Mar-a-Largo that – purely coincidentally! – coincided with the cruise-missile salvo fired at Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.”

Walsh noted how the Chinese then “openly cautioned the troublesome regime of Kim Jong-un in North Korea not to antagonize the U.S. with further nuclear saber-rattling in the region.”

The author praised Tillerson for rocking the “former Soviets” with strong words in his Moscow meeting with Russian leaders, and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for taking a hard line with the Kremlin for its “tactical alliance with Assad while making clear the U.S. commitment to Israel.”

Walsh put the blame for the repeal and replacement of Obamacare not on the president, but on House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., for a “needlessly complex ‘better way,'” that “couldn’t muster enough GOP votes.”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

“Now the way’s clear for a cleaner repeal,” he asserted, while adding, “And, yes, tax reform’s on its way, too.”

Walsh praised both the seating of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and the Republicans’ use of the “nuclear option” in avoiding a filibuster of his confirmation because it means Trump’s next pick will sail through. The author also said the new justice will help quickly clear the way for the president’s two executive orders temporarily halting immigration from several Muslim countries, now stalled in the courts, once they reach the Supreme Court.

Walsh also cited something potentially monumental, but largely flying under the media radar: the proverbial draining of the swamp.

“Less remarked but equally important has been the administration’s speedy action on downsizing the federal government, proposing real spending cuts and reorganizing the bloated bureaucracy, which has drawn bleats of protest from the D.C. swamp creatures watching their sinecures circling the drain.”

“Trump’s also lifted the hiring freeze, in order to flesh out a still-undermanned executive staff and replace Obama holdovers,” Walsh added.

To get a seasoned politician’s perspective on the president’s performance so far, WND asked former Rep. Michele Bachman, R-Minn., who declared she was “a proud 2016 Donald Trump supporter, and campaigned for him in many swing states across the country.”

Former Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

She said it was a thrill to see the voters of Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina put the president in the White House, and “I’m glad he is there.”

Bachmann told WND she noted three issues on the campaign trail that particularly resonated with voters:

“They wanted to push the pause button on legal immigration, particularly from individuals who continue to bear allegiance to Islamic Shariah law, rather than giving their allegiance to American law.”

“On those issues, the president has delivered his best, and remains in the process of securing his promises,” said the former lawmaker.

Bachmann emailed WND this sweeping analysis:

“First, on immigration, we have seen a spike in arrests and deportations of illegal aliens. Border Patrol has been clearly instructed to do their job, and despite some Obama holdovers who illegally defy both President Trump and U.S. law, the president is working to fulfill this promise, too.

“He is also trying to build a wall on our southern border. Now it is Congress’ job to fund that vital component of our national security.

“Second, on the repeal of Obamacare: The president was unambiguous. He said he would repeal the bill.

“Speaker Ryan’s bill was highly unpopular because it would not have made health care more affordable, nor more accessible.

“I do believe, however, we will see a better health-care bill, and it will pass.

“Quite simply, if Congress allowed the American people to purchase any health-care plan they wanted with no minimum federal requirements, health insurance problems would be solved in less than a year!

“I advise my former colleagues to go with the best, simplest solution, and President Trump will achieve his promise.

“Twice President Trump issued executive order travel bans to secure America’s national security interests, and twice he was illegally stopped by activist judges.

“On this issue, the Supreme Court will uphold President Trump’s legitimate authority, and he will prevail.

“For the past two weeks, the New York Times and other liberal news outlets have relentlessly pounded a theme that liberal Manhattan Democrats have succeeded in securing their power in an ideological coup, behind closed doors in the Trump White House.

“The stories gloat that conservatives in the Trump administration have lost power while liberal Manhattan Democrats have secured real power, and the president’s ear.

“If those claims are true, President Trump’s base will feel betrayed and their loyalty to the president will end. But the truth of what has happened behind the scenes is still unfolding.

“Most spectacularly, the president sent a clear, unmistakable message to world powers that America is willing to use our military powers wherever and whenever necessary to keep evildoers in check.

“Despite unprecedented negativity and protests from the gatekeepers of our culture in the media, academia, Hollywood, business and the advertising world, President Trump has shown a steady hand and unflinching commitment to advance his promises.

“I am an eternal skeptic, but if the president sticks with advancing his campaign promises, like President Reagan before him, America will be better off because of his leadership.”